Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are becoming more common as a form of lighting. Due to their superior qualities in terms of energy efficiency, safety, ease of implementation, and the like, LEDs are becoming ubiquitous, having the potential to largely displace incandescent bulbs and other lighting technologies in the not too distant future. Early LEDs emitted a low-intensity red light, but modern development efforts yielded LEDs that have very high brightness across a broad spectrum of wavelengths. Even white light can now be produced using a combination of red, green, and blue LEDs, or by using a phosphor material.
One of the challenges associated with LED lighting involves the ability to effectively diffuse the light emitted by the LEDs. To achieve a certain level of practicality and pleasing emission of light, various efforts have been employed to guide, refract, and enhance the light emitted by the LEDs using lighting fixtures and the like. As the adoption rate of LED technology continues to rise, so too do efforts to make the LED light emissions more pleasing to the human eye.
For example, FIG. 1 shows a conventional approach to enhancing the emission of light from an LED. The encapsulated LED 2 is cast into the decorative part 1 with bubbles 3. The two parts are bonded together to form one entire part. The material used for the decorative part is typically resin. Multiple layers of bubbles 3 are created along the transmission path of the light beam to disperse the light produced by the LED 2. Others have attempted diffusion using glass pieces or light guides.
However, it is not enough to merely achieve a level of light dispersion using an LED fixture. The light fixture and dispersion level of light must be significant enough to be useful, and visually pleasing and attractive enough to evoke a positive reaction in the individuals using and observing the emitted light. For outdoor applications, the fixtures need to be durable, nice-looking, and practical.
These are only a few of the challenges presented by conventional approaches, which are impeding the wider adoption of LED technologies, and ultimately hurting efforts for energy independence and environmental responsibility.
Accordingly, a need remains for an improved lighting device, particularly one incorporating LED technology, for providing efficient light emissions on a grander scale. In addition, it would be desirable to have a LED lighting device incorporating a fumed diffuser globe, particularly one that is shatter resistant, portable, remote controllable, programmable, rechargeable, and floatable. Embodiments of the invention address these and other limitations in the prior art.
The foregoing and other features of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.